Lady Mariam fixed him with a hard stare, her blue eyes probing him like she would any gentleman she conversed with. He did not know how old the woman was, but he could sense that she had seen enough men like Trent before. He could only pray that Mariam did not see through him.

"And how do you think she will react to this?" Lady Mariam asked, lifting the letter she received from him. "I understand that she is your fiancée, Trent Durham, but you must also realize that Belcourt has given her its protection and she has allowed us to do so."

He came to Belcourt knowing that they would challenge him. Of course, Mariam would say this.

Leaning back in his chair, he stared at Mariam from across her desk. The fact that they ushered him into the woman's private study within the Flower Garden spoke volumes. This was a private discussion that was not to be repeated to anyone else.

One should think carefully where Lady Mariam was concerned, and Trent did just that for two nights prior to coming here. He placed his hand under his chin and carefully nodded. "I appreciate Belcourt for providing Caroline the protection she needs, my lady," he started, his gaze imprisoning hers, "but Belcourt must also realize that Caroline has a powerful family outside."

Lady Mariam's jaw hardened. "Am I picking a threat from your tone, Trent?"

"Oh, no," he said, breaking into a smile. "I care very little about the agreement you have with Caroline. I am but a flower here, after all. What you may have construed as a threat is not coming from me, my lady, but the Duke of Remington himself."

The Mistress's brow arched, but she remained quiet.

"While he agrees that Caroline is safest here, his wife believes otherwise. The duchess will only allow this terrible arrangement—her words, not mine—to continue if someone she trusts can watch over Caroline."

Lady Mariam stared at him for a long time, and by how the woman's brows were knitted together, Trent surmised that what she was about to say next would not be good. So, when Mariam opened her mouth to speak, he interjected by adding, "The duke is desperate to keep his daughter safe, and his wife assured. Now, as their future son-in-law, I am obliged to agree. While I am confident Belcourt can keep Caroline safe until we find the culprit, her family does not share the same level of confidence."

"The duke agreed to keep his daughter with Belcourt."

"He did, yes. But the duchess does not. She will force the duke to take their daughter from Belcourt if I cannot be her secret flower, and unfortunately, he has the power to do that, yes? His daughter, after all, is not in her full faculties to decide for herself, having lost her memory. Wives can be powerful, too, if you must know, and I can attest that the Duchess of Remington is not one I should disappoint with on this matter."

Trent smiled inwardly. Lady Mariam knew she had to keep Caroline in Belcourt because that's what Belcourt wanted.

"And," Trent said, lifting a finger when the woman opened her mouth, stopping her words, "I am only applying as her secret flower. No one will have to know. Trust me, my lady, that I dislike this plan as much as you do, but I have people to please outside Belcourt."

The Mistress sternly nodded, her face filled with disapproval. "Let us go back to my first question, Trent, before you took up the habit of interrupting me." He smiled in apology. "Dare not do that again. Remember that you also have people within Belcourt to please."

"My apologies."

Lady Mariam tilted her head to ask again, "Again, let me ask you, Trent Durham. How do you think she will react to this?"

Trent's lips twitched. "I am confident that Caroline will react to this gracefully."

"She does not remember you."

"But I do remember her," he retorted.

The woman's lips curled in a way Trent did not like.

"Caroline and I are betrothed since we were children, and no one else knows her more than I do. She may have failed to provide me with everything a man needs, but she was my best friend. I knew her—I know her." He smiled at Lady Mariam. "So, trust me, my lady, when I say that Caroline will take this very gracefully."

Lady Mariam's eyebrow twitched. "And of Jade?"

"Jade is my Belle, not my wife, is she?" He turned his head and frowned at Mariam. "And why would I worry about Jade? She will never have to know about this because I am applying to be my fiancée's secret flower." Then he broke in a grin. "And I am certain that if Jade finds out, which I am certain to be unlikely because this will only be between you and me—and Caroline, if you accept my application—Jade will not mind. Belles are not like the women outside Belcourt."

The tension in the room reigned for a while before Lady Mariam blinked and smiled. "You understand that I will have to take this to the Maidens first."

"And I expect that they will understand and be gracious."

Mariam nodded with a knowing and confident smile. "Do not let your hopes up, Trent Durham."

"Oh, I do not. Belcourt can do whatever it wishes. I have been your gentleman long enough to know how I should act and think." He let out a dramatic sigh. "I am only concerned that this will force the duke and the duchess to do what they will deem necessary for their child's wellbeing and I would hate to be inconvenienced by it." He stood before the woman could dismiss him. "I will wait for the approval of my application."

⠒♣◆♣⠒

Apart from having a less tiny villa, Caroline could not find that much difference from when she was still living as Lady Caroline Comhar, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Remington.

She would wake up and her maid, Fatima, would come in and dress her for the morning. They would serve her the breakfast Shay prepared for her. And then there was nothing to do until luncheon.

By afternoon, she would walk to the park with Fatima who told her many stories of her time with Aliya, the famous Belle who eventually married a St. Vincent.

Caroline was aware of the St. Vincents, and she had heard of the news when Oliver St. Vincent married a Belle. It caused quite a stir within the Circus, she heard. However, she was yet to find out if letting a former Belle be this close to the Royal Circus was safe. But as far as she was concerned, Ellise St. Vincent was fine with having Aliya as her sister-in-law, and Caroline trusted her friend's ability to judge people.

However, just as Caroline was getting bored, things picked up pace. Merely two days after her visit to Trent, Ruby and Jade came calling on her.

"We will have a tea party this weekend," Jade told her excitedly. "The other Belles will be happy to see you."

Caroline smiled. "I will be honored to join."

Ruby smiled at her. "Well?"

She blinked, confused. "Well, what?"

"Do you have a flower yet?"

From the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Jade's jaw tighten. "They informed me that a Soldier will come by soon."

Ruby clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "A high chance that a Soldier's visit will result to you having a mission, not a flower."

Caroline smiled. "Honestly, I am more excited about a mission."

Jade laughed. "Oh, trust me, darling," she said, giving Caroline a meaningful smile, "you will want a flower."

Maintaining the curious smile, Caroline asked, "Pray tell?"

Jade shared a look with Ruby before they both giggled.

Amazing, Caroline unwillingly thought. They were brilliant actresses. They made her feel so very welcomed, as if they had attacked her at the cabin, gagged her, and interrogated her.

Then she mentally shook her head, reminding herself that she could not think this way. She had to believe that these ladies were her friends. "What?" she asked with a chuckle. "Go on, tell me the secret. Why would I want to have a flower?"

Jade cleared her throat, her face flushing red.

God help me, I want to kill this woman. Caroline bit her tongue, reprimanding her own thoughts.

"Well, for one, a woman deserves to be pleasured."

She should not think of Trent whenever she was with this woman, but Caroline could not help her. "How?" She could not help it; she had to ask.

"Well," Jade softly began, "pleasure in a way that you will lose sense of your reality."

Caroline maintained her composure. The woman must have taken her silence as a sign to tell more.

"You want to be consumed by a man, Carol. You crave to feel him inside you; you will want to feel his heated breath brushing against your naked skin as he plunges you to a destruction you demand to experience over and over again. You will want your breath be stolen as he gives you life, and all that taking place in bed where you writhe with passion, soaked in sweat."

Ruby cleared her throat and laughed awkwardly. "Now, Jade, darling, we are uncertain if Carol is ready for this kind of talk."

No, she was not ready. And she was unsure if she wanted to hear more. Her hands were shaking, and she held tried to control it. What? With anger? Fury? Hatred? Why? Because this woman was talking about Trent? But many women had experienced the same thing with a man. She, Caroline, was amongst them.

She would be a hypocrite not to remember how it felt to receive gratification in a way Jade described.

"Oh, I am certain she will have to learn someday," said Jade to Ruby. "We have done the modest talks with new Belles before and look how they have struggled when they eventually had to do the deed."

Ruby's shaky laugh did not pass Caroline's attention. "Oh well, you are correct. I remember how Sasha was so innocent when she first became a Belle."

"Precisely," said Jade, nodding her red head, her grey eyes capturing Caroline's. "That is why we must prepare our dear friend, Carol."

Caroline could only smile. "I am not even certain if I would want a gentleman."

"You are a Belle, Carol. You will need a gentleman." Jade's voice was stern, reminding her of what she was capable of. "You need to make use of the giant bed in your room. My flower has shown me many wonders while in it, trust me, and I hope that you can find the same things too with the right gentleman."

"I can refuse such an act, yes? Until I am ready?"

"Certainly!" said Ruby with a gentle smile. "It has to be a mutual agreement. In fact, you can choose to be the same as Aaron and I."

Jade rolled her eyes. "No, you would want to be not like the two of them, trust me."

"Why?"

"They are friends."

"Very good friends, in fact," said Ruby. "Nothing else."

"Then you do not engage in—"

"They are an odd pair," Jade pointed out.

Caroline saw irritation flicker in Ruby's deep-set blue eyes. "You can do anything you want with your gentleman, Carol. He cannot force you to prostitute yourself to him."

Jade let out a dramatic sigh. "Well, that is true. You do not want to bed a man unwillingly. It will only turn bad for both of you." Jade turned to Ruby. "I am only grateful that Trent and I are very understanding of each other."

"How so?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Well, I respect his privacy," Jade said. "He expects that from me. We have rules and I suggest that you have the same with your future flower. Whenever Trent and I are together, there is naught but understanding. He knows what I want and I know what he needs. He came to Belcourt for a reason, did he not? They all do."

"And that is?"

"To get what they could not from their actual lives, of course!" Jade said. "We make their fantasies real, darling, ones they cannot get from their wives, lovers, or fiancées."

At that point, Caroline did not know if she would stab the woman, or tie weight around her legs before drowning her in a nearby lake.

"And most of these fantasies are just pure innocent ones," Ruby said in contradiction. "Most of these men only want companionship and friendship."

"Well, that is also true," said Jade, her smile turning wicked. "Until they see you as a woman, that is."

Ruby let out a helpless laugh. She playfully slapped Jade's arm. "Stop it, Jade. You may scare Carol."

"Oh, I am certain Carol has seen the red book."

"In fact, I did," she admitted. "I must admit it is very... informative."

The two ladies laughed. Then Jade said, "Every villa given to Belles has the red book."

Ruby shared a look with Caroline and rolled her eyes.

"And have you applied everything from the red book, Jade?" Caroline asked, once more belatedly scolding herself. But how could she stop herself from asking if she was this curious? But she was also afraid to know how much Trent gave this wench.

"Well, not all, because my flower can be quite... well, let us simply say he does what he wants and I am only happy to receive. And he does it tremendously." Jade winked at her before letting out a laugh.

"Now!" Ruby suddenly cried out, jumping to her feet, "shall we go for that walk? Enough of this conversation, Jade. I'm sure Carol gets what you mean." With a sympathetic smile, Ruby reached for Caroline's hand. "Do not take her words to heart, darling. Deal with your gentleman in the manner you desire. Remember, you are your own person. You are your own woman. No man owns you."

Caroline nodded and smiled. "Yes, I agree."

⠒♣◆♣⠒

By evening, Caroline was deep in thoughts in her bedchamber.

She tried to erase everything Jade shared about her and Trent from her mind, but she could not help but wonder.

She is a liar, the voice in her head hissed.

True, but Trent would have done anything to get Jade's trust.

In the past, she had thought nothing of it. She was always fine with him having lovers as he also gave her liberty to engage with other men, for they had always been just friends who were to be tied in a marriage planned for them.

Their friendship was their reality, and they grew up thinking their betrothal was naught but a transaction of convenience; an agreement between two powerful families.

But why was she bothered now?

She must hate Jade too much to be this troubled.

Caroline shook her head. She must control this hate if she wanted to succeed with her plans because Jade was not only her enemy here. She should put aside any thoughts of Trent. She had to forget who he was.

She had done it so easily when she woke up in Belcourt.

Visiting him must have been a wrong idea, she regretfully thought, pacing around her room. Her own control of her thoughts was being tested since she saw him.

No, her mind contradicted. It started when he barged into the Flower Garden.

A long weary sigh escaped her because the voice in her head was correct. She seemed to have lost grip of the control she mastered after the attack when she saw him.

Because he was familiar.

When he walked into that drawing room, he carried with him the memories she had been trying to suppress. And it attacked her. It made her restless to see him, and when the opportunity came to her, she came to him without inhibition.

And now she was just a mess. She could barely keep up pretense whenever she was with Jade and Ruby that she found herself desperate to part from the two women earlier.

You have gone this far, Caroline, she told herself.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. She turned to find Fatima standing in the doorway with a smile. "A Soldier is here to see you, my lady."

She blinked, frozen in her spot for a moment, before she jumped and hurried down the stairs and into the parlor where Gabrielle was already waiting for her.

The woman greeted her with a smile. Wrapped in her green cloak, Gabrielle eyed her from head to foot. "You look fine, Caroline. I am glad."

"I am recovering well, thank you," she said, taking a seat. She gestured for Gabrielle to sit down.

"I will not be long as it is already late," Gabrielle said. "I only came here to deliver words from Belcourt."

Caroline smiled, waiting.

Gabrielle stared at her, green eyes calculating and firm. "Belcourt has accepted a flower for you."

"A flower?" she asked, suddenly growing stiff. "I was told that I have the freedom to decide to have a flower or not."

"Yes, we understand, but Belcourt has decided on this because they believe it is for the best. Your flower, in Belcourt's opinion, will suit you well."

Caroline swallowed. "And who will this flower be?"

"Robert Dior, Marquess of Chester and future Duke of Calbridge."